Nurses’ responsibilities in institutional foster care settings for children and adolescents: A Delphi study

Abstract

Background: Institutional foster care is a protective strategy for children/adolescents at risk in which nurses are responsible for health education, health promotion, and health care. Objective: To validate a protocol of nurses’ responsibilities in institutional foster care settings for children and adolescents. Methodology: Delphi study with two rounds for validation of the protocol that was built after a literature review and field research. A Delphi survey was used to validate the protocol by 12 international experts with experience in clinical practice, teaching, and research. The minimum agreement rate of 80% was considered. The modified Guidance on Conducting and REporting DElphi studies (CREDES) was used. Results: The protocol was validated, with an agreement rate of 90% in the second round, after expert consensus on the items related to the managerial, care, educational, and sociopolitical categories of nurses’ responsibilities. Conclusion: The protocol had content and face validity and will be used to define nurses’ responsibilities in institutional foster care settings for children/adolescents.